The secret sauce for effective local indie online news easily boils down to choosing between two words:?FOR ?vs. ABOUT. “Reporters elsewhere write ABOUT our communities. We write FOR our communities,” said David Boraks, Publisher of DavidsonNews.net, at the close of … Continue reading →

In a wide ranging conversation Jay Rosen, journalism professor from New York University, and Michele Mclellan, founder of the BlockbyBlock Community News?Summit, ?discussed the summit’s origin, and the lessons learned about sustaining … Continue reading →

With the Block by Block summit behind us, I want to share next steps and activities for the Block by Block network. I am excited to report that the BxB network will?continue to serve independent publishers and innovators in local … Continue reading →

by Denise Cheng, MIT Center for Civic Media Rich Gordon and his Northwestern colleagues have had a presence at Block by Block for all three years, and under the banner of Knight News Innovation Lab for the last two. At … Continue reading →

Rusty Coats, principal of?Coats2Coats, ?kicked off the opening panel of the?2012?BlockbyBlock Community News Summit?challenging local indie online news publishers to honestly answer three questions: Is this my hobby or is this my full-time job? What pivots has your business … Continue reading →

If you can’t measure it, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it. That was Susan Mernit‘s message to the roomful of publishers who gathered for her session on harnessing metrics. “Think about how hard you work,” Mernit went on to say. … Continue reading →

If you don’t make time to think about your business, you’ll be given time to think about your news business – because you will no longer have one. That was the message from Rusty Coats of Coats2Coats, moderater of “The … Continue reading →

Whether you are managing an entire sales team for your site or if you’re the lone wolf selling advertising, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system will make your life easier. In Eleanor Cippel’s breakout session, “Turning Prospects into Dollars,” she … Continue reading →